Millard Filmore The 13th President of the United States Born: 1800 Died: 1874 Served: 1850 to 1853
Millard Fillmore was born into poverty to a family living in a log cabin, in 1800. He would later be thrust into the presidency after the sudden death of his predecessor. During his time in office, he was responsible for one of the largest treaties in American history.
As a young man, Fillmore became obsessed with learning, sometimes stealing books to increase his knowledge. He lacked much formal education until the age of 18 yet managed to secure a position in a law office. By the year 1823, he was fully admitted to the New York bar.
Before He Was President Fillmore’s first step in his political career began in 1828, when he served on the New York state assembly. One of his major focal points at this time was eliminating the issue of 14 Presidents of the United States
debtor imprisonment. He was familiar with the hardships of poverty and worked to pass laws to eliminate such harsh punishments. His passion for the citizens in his district was quickly recognized and acknowledged when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1832. He would serve four terms in Congress but declined another election in 1843 to begin a campaign for governor of New York. While he ultimately lost this election, he found himself serving as comptroller of New York, when he was handpicked for the vice presidency position under Zachary Taylor. The duo was tasked with sectional tensions over slavery and its growth in western territories, becoming a major issue in America. Legislation considered included a series of resolutions to reach a compromise and avoid a crisis between the North and South. Before Taylor could reach an agreement, he suddenly passed away after an Independence Day celebration in Washington, pushing Fillmore into the presidential position.
Major Policy Millard Fillmore was appointed president in 1850. Taylor’s cabinet would soon resign, allowing the new leader to appoint his own staff. He publicly spoke of his approval of a solution to healing sectional differences, and the Compromise of 1850 was adopted. This gave states the choice to act as free states when joining the Union. President Fillmore’s greatest accomplishment was organizing a trade mission with Japan, which had been an isolated nation for the previous three centuries. While the Treaty of Kanagawa wasn’t officially drafted until Fillmore was out of office, his persistence and strategy helped finalize Japan’s first treaty with a Western nation. Fillmore retired from politics after a failed campaign for presidency in 1856. He would die after suffering from a stroke in 1874.
